Vue 8 includes a number of important new features such as:

• 3D Terrain Sculpting: Allows users to freely sculpt terrain features such as overhangs and caves directly into Vue standard and procedural terrains, with on-the-fly mesh subdivision.
• Localized Infinite and Procedural Terrain Sculpting: Combine the best of both worlds with the ability to locally sculpt features on the infinitely detailed procedural terrains. Now, users have the ability to fine tune or completely rework localized areas on procedural terrains providing even greater artistic control and creativity.
• Scene Context Sculpting: Allows users to sculpt terrain features in the context of scene elements. Sculpt rocks and reliefs around vegetation and architectural structures.
• New Stratified Terrain Fractals which allow the creation of richly detailed stratified terrain features.
• New Directional Displacement Engine for textures to create more detailed and life-like surface features with greatly increased performance.
• 3rd Generation Spectral Atmospheric Technology which dramatically improves the quality and realism of clouds, god rays, atmospheric shadows, and scene light inteaction.
• Direct Re-Posing of Rigged Meshes: Rigged and pre-animated mesh objects can now be re-posed directly inside Vue. Currently supported formats: 3DSMax, Collada and Vue Pre-animated Meshes.
• New Shader-based OpenGL Preview Engine for improved real-time performance and previewing accuracy.
• Deeper xStream Immersive Integration offering more seamless operation and improved workflow with the leading CG applications. Vue 8 xStream adds support for Maya 2010, Cinema 4D R11.5, Softimage 2010 and V-Ray for Maya to the list of compatible applications (see below).
• All the new features introduced in Vue 7.5: camera mapping, planetary rendering, cross-shadowing and cloud masks, spherical cloud maps, animated EcoSystem populations, and more.

More Information at at www.e-onsoftware.com. Image Courtesy of Pavel Huerta.